FULLERTON, CALIF. » Change has been a constant for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors for the better part of the 2014-15 season. New coach. Different team leaders. Unique style of play.

Could all those hurdled challenges add up to a different result in the Big West tournament?

The future of coach Benjy Taylor and much of the Rainbows’ roster could hinge on what happens at Anaheim’s Honda Center starting Thursday, as fifth-seeded UH takes on No. 4 Long Beach State in the second quarterfinal of the day.

"It’s an elimination game, just like if you’re in the NCAA Tournament. Win or go home," forward Stefan Jankovic said. "So, I’m going to play my heart out and so are the rest of the guys. I can control what I can control, which is my effort. After that, whether shots go in, don’t go in, I’m going to play like it’s the last game of the season because it really could be."

Any further postseason play for 20-win UH likely hinges on Taylor’s team winning three games in three days and punching the Big West’s automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Athletic director Ben Jay has ruled out a pay-for-play tournament like the CIT, and the NIT would seem to be out of reach for a team with an RPI in the 170s.

So, it’s all about performance in the conference tournament, which has been a shaky proposition for UH since 2002, the last time the Rainbows put it all together.

UH has won just once in its past 10 conference tourney games — a first-round win over Idaho in the 2012 WAC quarterfinals. It is 0-for-2 in the Big West tournament.

Last year was particularly painful, as UH fell to Cal State Northridge in overtime, 87-84, in a game the Rainbows held significant leads in both regulation and overtime.

Co-captain Garrett Nevels, the team’s lone senior, has said that loss remains imbedded in his mind, though he didn’t directly speak to it this week.

"This is all about toughness and playing hard, so that’s what we’re going to try to do," Nevels said.

Despite the high stakes, UH coaches and players were able to stay loose in their last pre-tournament practice Wednesday at nearby Cal State Fullerton. Titan Gym became the team’s makeshift home since beating CSF there by 21 in the regular-season finale.

UH is at close to full health for its biggest game of the season.

"My group, we don’t get nervous. We don’t get shook," Taylor said. "Down 10 or up 10, we feel like we got a chance. Regardless of the team, we feel like we got a chance. We show up every night, we don’t get blown out. We always have a chance, for the most part. I don’t get nervous and they don’t get nervous."

UH will get a feel for the cavernous, 18,000-plus seat Honda Center just 30 minutes before its game. Taylor has decided not to take his team to its designated shootaround time of 8 a.m.

"In the past, I’ve been worried about (an unfamiliar locale) with guys," Taylor said. "But we’ve got a pretty resilient group, and I don’t make a big deal of it so they don’t make a big deal of it."

LBSU will be no easy out, but on paper it is a favorable first matchup for UH, which still ranks third nationally in steals per game (9.9). The ‘Bows and The Beach split their two regular-season meetings, each winning handily on their home court.

UH got career-highs of 20 points and six 3-pointers from Negus Webster-Chan in a 78-59 win over LBSU on Feb. 26, avenging a 65-50 drubbing at the Walter Pyramid on Jan. 31 in which UH squandered a 12-0 start to the game.

"I’m going to do what I do," said the perpetually nonchalant Webster-Chan of the rubber match.

The swingman is riding a seven-game streak of hitting multiple 3-pointers, shooting nearly 50 percent (24-for-50) from deep over that span.

Other ‘Bows are improved offensively, as well.

Nevels averaged just 7.9 points in nine games coming off thumb surgery. But in the past four games — which has coincided with Nevels shedding the brace on his right hand — he’s averaged 14.0 ppg on 53.7 percent shooting.

Jankovic has been UH’s most consistent performer in league play, scoring in double figures in 13 of the past 15 games, and has upped his rebounding and shot blocking.

Forward Aaron Valdes, UH’s leading scorer for the full season (13.6 ppg), has had an up-and-down conference run, but he scored 27 points over the past two games.

Point guard Roderick Bobbitt, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and national steals leader, could have the biggest part to play of all. He helped limit LBSU point guard Mike Caffey, a three-time All-Big West first-teamer, to a combined 6-for-28 shooting in the teams’ two meetings.

LBSU was slumping the last times the teams met; its blowout defeat at UH capped off a five-game losing streak. But it’s come back with a three-game winning upswing heading into the tournament. And it has a winning pedigree in this event, having won at least one game in the past five Big West tournaments.

Finding a contributor beyond Caffey (15.9 ppg, 3.7 apg) and honorable-mention forward David Samuels (10.5 ppg, league-best 9.5 rpg) has been a challenge all season. Long Beach is 13-5 when three or more players hit double-figure scoring, and 3-11 when that doesn’t happen.

Travis Hammonds, a 6-foot-6 swingman, has been problematic for Hawaii. He beat UH with a game-winning 3 at the Pyramid last season, and was a factor in both games this year as well. Keeping him in check could be key.

LBSU coach Dan Monson said this week he is most concerned about stopping UH in transition.

"They personally challenge you when you have the ball. It’s a man’s challenge to be able to secure the ball when they’re on defense," Monson said. "We’ve had mixed success over the two games. I think they’ve been up 14-2 (starting) both games. Our guys have not been able to adjust to their aggressiveness, they’re athleticism (at the start). One game we recovered from it, one game we didn’t."

Lastly, the team expects solid fan support. Six ‘Bows hail from California.

"I think we’re going to have a really good crowd this year, I think better than last year (a few hundred)," Valdes said. "I know a lot of parents are coming out. A lot of people have been texting me saying they’re going to come out and support."

Should UH win, it will face a to-be-determined opponent; the Big West reseeds the bracket after the first round, and the lowest remaining seed will face the highest seed in the first semifinal at 3:30 p.m.